In the wake of the new year(and after scouring my friend’s new lifestyle instagram), I have once again promised myself that I will FINALLY organize my entire life and find the routine that works for me.
Needless to say, I am not totally there (I mean, who really is?).
However, by making a few simple and easy changes to me ~routine~ I can PROUDLY say I am not only more organized, but also less stressed. Truly #blessed.
KEEP A PLANNER
Okay, I imagine you are EXTREMELY tired of hearing this advice, but I promise it really does work. I’ve always been a paper and pen type gal, so for me, writing in a physical planner has been extremely helpful. I even have a special purple pen that is solely used for jotting in my planner.
I know ~bullet journaling~ is the new trend, but to be honest, it completely stresses me out. So, I just stick to a regular monthly/weekly/daily/notes type of planner.
If you’re so over writing, or your handwriting is similar to that of a three-year old, try using Google Calendar. It’s super easy to add appointments, coffee dates, or gym sessions to your online, personal calendar.
CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET
Listen, I know we all have those jeans we used to looooove in high school laying around in our dresser, even though we know VERY well we are never going to fit into those again.
So, why not get rid of them?
As a huge fashion buff, I have acquired quite A LOT of clothes in my time. And yet I still found myself saying the following…
Which was FAR from true. The actual fact of the matter was that all my ~cute and trendy~ clothes were lost beneath piles and piles of OLD clothes that I never wore anymore.
I was making a move to New York City, and being that I had NOÂ CLOSET in my new apartment, I knew it was time to downsize and get rid of some clothes. And the craziest thing happened…it felt good. I felt like a weight had been lifted off me as I tossed another pair of ill-fitting jeans from my life.
Not sure what to do with your old clothes? Here’s some ideas: trade your old threads with friends, bring them to consignment to get some $$$$$$, or donate them to Goodwill.
CONSOLIDATE YOUR NOTES
This was a huge one for me.
As I mentioned previously, I’m a big paper & pen type gal, so I constantly find myself jotting shorthand in various notebooks. When packing for New York, I finally came to realize how many journals I had *regularly* been writing in…SIX.
Yes, I had SIX journals…no wonder I could never remember where I wrote anything down.
So finally, I decided it was time to MERGE. I bought one journal and swore to only write in this one. Since doing so, I’ve actually been able to find notes and ~doodles~ since everything is one place. I recommend a classic, Moleskin journal.
MAKE YOUR BED
I was sitting in a ~business of acting class~ sipping on my cold brew while my instructor INSISTED that the best change we could make in our lives today was to simply make our bed each morning.
I scoffed.
I’M NOT LAUGHING ANYMORE. Because since that day I’ve been taking three minutes out of my morning each day to make my bed and I don’t know what it is, but something about this simple, cleaning action makes me feel empowered.
“YEAH. LOOK AT ME. I have already accomplished ONE thing today. LET’S GOOOOOO”
Just try it. You’ll thank me when you stumble into your apartment at 2 A.M and crash onto your perfectly made bed.
CLEAN YOUR DESKTOP
Anyone who knows me is aware that sometimes my screensaver/desktop can be a bit of a DISASTER ZONE. I often get into the lazy habit of saving files and pictures striaght to my desktop with the misguided notion that somehow they’ll be easier to find this way?? Pro tip: they’re not.Â
So, I decided to clean-up my desktop. The first step was to choose a cute background image that I wouldn’t want to get hidden behind yet another Microsoft Word document. After I settled on a cute image of a witty neon sign, I made folders to organize all my files into. I had folders for work, auditions, pictures, and music. I left a few key applications on my desktop like Spotify (which I am truly CONSTANTLY using) and Garage Band.
All in all, my clean desktop has helped me to be more productive and organized.
